


Two Hearts

by Veldeia



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Genre: Heartbeats, Hurt Tony Stark, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-07-06
Updated: 2008-07-06
Packaged: 2018-03-30 23:05:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3955312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veldeia/pseuds/Veldeia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony shouldn't even be thinking about sex so soon after heart surgery. Bruce just shouldn't be thinking about sex, ever, period, because it's always a bad idea. But Tony's staring at him with those disarming puppy-dog eyes, and Bruce just can't say no.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> This was written long before the Avengers, with Edward Norton's Bruce Banner in mind, but reading it again myself, I'm actually visualizing Mark Ruffalo's version instead. It's ambiguous enough that it doesn't really matter.

Bruce Banner closes the door behind him as quietly as he can and contemplates the dim room he has just entered. On the wide bed that fills most of it rests Tony Stark, apparently asleep. He's as striking as ever, his eyes closed, his hair raven in the shadowy light. There's no sign of what has happened, except for the heart monitor electrodes on his chest, their wires leading to the corresponding screen on the table by his bedside.

Appearances can be deceiving, Bruce knows that better than anyone. Just a few days have passed since Tony's surgery. Bruce crosses his arms and sighs at the thought of it, at the feeling of guilt it brings. He doubts Tony would ever have agreed to the operation to remove the shrapnel from his chest if not for the persuasion of his friends. They had wanted it - Bruce, Steve, Pepper, Rhodey, and many others - because they had though it would be best for him. On some level, they had been selfish, too. They had wanted to feel safer about Tony, to rest assured that no one would be able to kill him just by pulling out the amazing device that had kept him alive against all odds.

It had been a highly unconventional operation. The surgeons had removed the arc reactor and used the preexisting opening to access the thoracic cavity, so that there would be no scarring at all, and it would heal quickly, if all went well. If only all had gone well. They had botched it, the damn doctors, even though Tony had hired the best cardiac surgeons in the world. It had been too difficult. Yinsen had been right when he had deemed it inoperable. They had managed to remove the shrapnel, but not without severe damage to his heart. They still didn't know if it would ever heal completely. Bruce glanced at the arc reactor. It looked the same as ever, glowing softly, but now, it might be nothing more than a decoration. Tony might never be able to wear the armor again.

"Hey, Hulk. What took you so long?" Tony suddenly speaks up, startling Bruce out of his brooding. So, he wasn't asleep after all. He sounds as snarky as ever, his voice completely normal.

"Don't call me that," Bruce grimaces. "And you can blame Pepper. She refused to let me in here, since you're supposed to be resting. How're you feeling?"

"How do you expect me to feel, stuck in here, everyone tiptoeing around me like I'm going to drop dead if they as much as sneeze in my direction? I'm going nuts! Stark, raving mad," he snorts. "But now you've come to the rescue. Come on, get over here," Tony throws aside the covers and motions at the wide expanse of empty mattress by his side. He's naked, and there's enough space for at least three in that bed.

"Tony, you know we can't. We shouldn't," Bruce shakes his head. He tries to be sensible, the voice of reason, like he always is in this relationship, though the truth is, he knows he's already lost.

"Like it's ever stopped us before. Bruce, I need you. Now more than ever," Tony says, staring at him with those disarming puppy-dog eyes, and Bruce can't say no. He hardly ever has any trouble saying no to Betty, but to Tony, to those passionate dark eyes begging for his touch, he just can't.

  


* * *

  


Bruce pulls his shirt over his head and drops it to the floor. The extra-stretchy pants follow quickly. Tony stares at him hungrily, admiring his lean, yet muscular body, so different from the huge green monster he becomes when he transforms. Bruce crosses the room in a few quick strides and lands on the bed next to him.

"I missed you," Tony whispers, wraps his arms around Bruce and pulls him into a fervent kiss.

When they finally break it to catch some air, Bruce answers, "I was horribly worried about you."

"Oh, puh-leaze! I don't want to hear that. Shut up," Tony complains, and practically bashes his lips against Bruce's, pushing his tongue into his mouth, robbing him of any chance of replying.

Bruce doesn't even try to speak up again. Instead, he turns Tony over so that he's resting on his left side, and wraps himself around his back, nibbling Tony's neck, one hand reaching for a nipple, the other going far lower, caressing his inner thighs, making its way higher in maddeningly slow, small circles. Bruce has such slender hands, such strong, nimble fingers. Tony sighs happily, tilting his head back to seek Bruce's lips again.

He can feel Bruce's hard-on against his butt, and the expectation makes him shiver with pleasure - but he can also feel Bruce's pulse against his back, and it's way too rapid. Sure enough, mere seconds later the wristwatch heart rate monitor Bruce always wears begins to bleep.

"Damn, damn, we shouldn't have - I should've listened to you," Tony utters. He uses both his feet and one hand to push Bruce away from him and lies down on his back again, trying to catch his breath, only to find out that it's not so easy. The sudden, nasty turn of events has had an effect on him as well. His heart skips uncomfortably, once, twice, thrice - he's felt this happen several times after the surgery, but it's never been this bad. Unlike before, it doesn't fall back into rhythm, and soon the erratic thumping isn't just unpleasant, it's downright painful. The heart monitor next to his bed starts wailing in an alarm, too.

He can't breathe, there's a heavy weight on his chest, the room is starting to grow dim. If Tony had any air to spare, he would laugh out loud. Stupid, stupid, stupid, what an incredibly stupid situation, and what a ridiculously flawed couple they are... The irony of it, he thinks to himself, if Tony Stark, legendary playboy, should meet his end in bed, in the middle of the action, because his body can't take it anymore. And if it's not his useless, damaged heart that kills him, then it will be his dangerous lover, about to turn into a creature that can tear him to pieces without breaking a sweat. 

He can feel how tense Bruce is next to him, writhing, his breathing coming in ragged animal pants, sounding like the Hulk already. Nevertheless, he speaks up. "Tony," he grunts. "We can make it. We have to. Breathe. Concentrate."

Bruce grabs a strong, tight hold of Tony's hand and pulls it to his chest, pressing it over his heart, and, reciprocally, places his hand over Tony's, so that they feel each other's heartbeats. They are perfect opposites, Tony's weak, irregular and too slow, Bruce's strong, steady but much too fast.

"Breathe, Tony," Bruce repeats. "Come on. Together," he urges, and takes a slow, deep breath. Tony can hear the effort it takes for him to keep it that way. The next time Bruce breathes in, Tony imitates it, doing his best to fill his lungs completely, to ignore the panic that tries overcome him.

  


* * *

  


Bruce can't tell how long they stay this way. Could be minutes, could be hours. When the transformation threatens, his thoughts always grow clouded, concentrating becomes difficult and the concrete surroundings hyper-real. Now, their reality has shrunk to nothing but the two of them, Bruce and Tony, their breathing, their heartbeats - those simple signs of life that you usually don't even notice and hardly ever think about. Muscles tensing with concentration, hearts contracting, lungs inflating and deflating. The feeling of the soft bed under him, of Tony's chest under his hand, the warm skin, the cool metal of the arc reactor. The dim light coming from the numerous pinpoint lamps in the gray ceiling above them.

He still hasn't changed as the minutes or hours pass, so he knows it's working, like he hoped it would. Like he knew it would, because of what he and Tony are like. Opposites attract each other. Opposite personalities. Opposite heartbeats, drawing closer to each other, Bruce's slowing down, Tony's evening out and climbing to a normal speed.

With his emotional and physical state slowly approaching normal, Bruce's thoughts begin to clear up as well, and he finds himself seeking analogues from physics. Newton's third law. Every action has an equal but opposite reaction - no, though it might describe him and Tony, it has nothing to do with this situation. Perhaps the second law of thermodynamics, entropy increasing in the system, heat flowing from hot to cold, from him to Tony? It doesn't seem correct, either, and maybe physics isn't the right field at all.

Although Bruce knows what they're doing is really all about concentration, meditation and relaxation, it feels more mystical, beyond what can be easily measured and explained. Bruce giving out excess life force to Tony, or something equally unscientific and esoteric. Balancing Yin and Yang.

Finally, when the danger has passed, when everything feels nearly back to normal again, there comes a magical moment when the already nonexistent time seems to stop completely still.

Bruce glances at his wrist heart rate monitor and at Tony's ECG screen by the bedside. Both read 72 beats per minute.

Tony clearly hasn't noticed anything. He draws a shuddering breath, and mutters, "Fuck, that was too close, we shouldn't have... But if we can't... Bruce, I can't live like this, I can't go on if..."

"Shush," Bruce tells him. "Can't you feel it?"

Tony falls silent, and a moment later, he utters a soft "Oh."

Their hearts are beating in perfect unison, at the exact same speed, the exact same time.

"It's going to be all right, Tony," Bruce says softly. "Together, we're going to make it. Whatever the future holds, it'll be all right."


End file.
